Sporting Kansas City stuns MLS with record deal, leaving LA Galaxy weakened | OneFootball

In signing Serbian forward Dejan Joveljić, Sporting Kansas City and LA Galaxy completed a deal in Major League Soccer record. The club moved a league-record $4 million in signing away the Serbian from the Galaxy in the record transaction. It is the first deal to have had an MLS club utilize direct cash in purchasing the player without having involved the utilization of GAM, or any other regulatory assets in concern to the league.

The signing of Joveljić is historic for MLS, but for Sporting KC, it represents a new dawn for the club. The sporting team needs an impactful, game-leading attacker and a replacement following the transfer of Alan Pulido to Chivas.

Why did Sporting KC go all in on Dejan Joveljić?

The 25-year-old Serbian forward joined LA Galaxy in 2021 from Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, having been signed at the time under the U22 Initiative - a program allowing MLS clubs to invest in young talent without taking too much of a hit on the salary cap.

With 45 goals in 123 games for the Galaxy, that's impressive, given he spent a lot of his tenure in the shadow of Javier "Chicharito" Hernández. But once he took over as the starting forward in 2024, he truly shined. He scored 21 goals to become a crucial piece in LA Galaxy's MLS Cup-winning campaign.

He was instrumental in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, netting six goals, including the title-winning strike in the final against the New York Red Bulls. That performance nailed Joveljić as one of the most effective strikers in the league and a target for several clubs.

Now in Kansas City, he lands with the expectation of becoming the offensive leader of the team, with good numbers and a winning mentality to boot, to a team that didn't classify for the playoffs last season.

A new era for MLS

Joveljić's transfer is historic not just because of the player but due to how the transfer went down. MLS has long been infamous for its confusing roster allocation rules, but beginning in 2025, clubs had more freedom to use private funds for transfers without needing GAM or other restrictions.

First to capitalize on this new flexibility, Sporting KC probably set the tone for future deals in the league. But with the new signing model, there's one major question: Will it prove successful, or create financial risks for MLS teams?

If Joveljić lives up to the billing and makes Sporting KC a contender, this might be the way to go, but if the signing doesn't work out, they may well have just invested a possible $4 million into a player who will not live up to that number of value.

Sporting KC had a mid-table attack in 2024, scoring 51 goals and finishing 13th in the Western Conference well out of the playoff places. Joveljić will most likely slide into the starting XI as the chief attacking threat along with William Agada.